Disney was in talks to buy 21st Century Fox
For years we have covered countless rumors about the Walt Disney Company. Including the possibility of Verizon or Apple buying them, or Disney buying Netflix. Now it was reported today from CNBC that there was talks going on between Fox and Disney about selling a portion of 21st Century Fox.
The deal has obviously not been reached. The main reason for the negotiations is that Fox wants to focus on a tighter group of media. Including Fox broadcast network, Fox Sports, and Fox News. All three of those networks would not be included in the Disney deal.
The deal would include networks like FX, National Geographic, Star, and Sky. This deal includes many questions. Would Blue Sky Animation, Fox's animation studio still exist along with Pixar and Walt Disney Animation? Popular properties like Peanuts and Ice Age have came from that studio. Could this also mean that Disney becomes the new home for Family Guy and The Simpsons? Unlikely but this deal and its details are really foggy.
Now the big question you have all been waiting for. Does this mean that the Fantastic Four and X-Men would join the Marvel Cinematic Universe? That is definitely a possibility if the deal eventually goes through. Also with the purchase of 21st Century Fox, Disney could take ownership of the Avatar franchise. Which they already have used at Walt Disney World.
The reality of this deal is that Disney wants more content to compete with Netflix when they launch their streaming service. So acquiring 21st Century Fox would do just that. It would give Disney more content to sell on their streaming service.
Personally, I don't see 21st Century Fox giving up all these assets. They can still make tons of money off all these properties. Unless Disney pays a wild sum for the properties.
It would be nice to see Disney acquire Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Avatar from Fox. Plus if Disney does acquire assets from 21st Century Fox the theme park rights for intellectual properties would once again be messed up. There was talks between both sides. The details are still foggy on the exact deal, and the talks that went on. My biggest take is that this sounds like a well thought out rumor similar to the Disney buying Netflix rumor, or the Disney buying Twitter for content rumor. These business deals sound phenomenal on paper. Then you throw in the fact that Disney's CEO Bob Iger's reputation is built on the fact he makes lavish purchases that have included Lucasfilm, Marvel, and Pixar. So it's easy to report on Disney buys (fill in the blank.)
Cultjer will follow this story as more information becomes available. For now we will just have to wait and see.
